Hobbit's Can Fly
by AngieT
Summary: Pippin is not sure what to do with Frodo's birthday present.


Hobbit's Can Fly

AngieT

This is totally silly and impossible – unless Hobbits exhale helium. Well Frodo was given to talking a lot of hot air……

In honour of Marigold and Lonewolf's wedding day.

"So what are they?" Pippin asked eyeing dubiously the small strips of brightly coloured material.

Merry nudged him. "Don't be so rude Pip, say thank you."

"Thank you," said Pip automatically, poking one of the things. It felt strange. These really were the most useless Mathom's he had ever received. He recalled himself and looked up with a bright smile. "Thank you very much Frodo, they are a lovely present."

Frodo sighed. "Don't worry Pip. I may be 45 today but I haven't gone totally senile. Gandalf sent them."

"And what are they?" Pippin asked again picking up one of the limp things. "I mean, they are very pretty colours but what do you DO with them."

"This," said Frodo picking up a bright blue example and stretching it out between his fingers. "Gandalf said they are made from the sap of a tree. I don't know the whole process but it can be mixed with something to make a stretchy material. Now, watch and be prepare to be amazed."

And with no more ado Frodo set the open end of the object to his mouth and blew.

Before Merry and Pippin's amazed eyes the flapping blue thing filled with air and expanded until it was about the size of Frodo's head. Deftly their cousin then tied a knot in one end and launched the vaguely spherical object into the air across the room to pump on the top of Pippin's head.

"It's called a balloon," Frodo announced.

"What does it do?" Merry watched as Pippin reached out and poked the balloon, sending it shooting up to the rafters of Bag End.

"It doesn't DO anything," said Frodo in his best long suffering voice. "It is just pretty. They are used for decorations."

"It's wonderful!" said Pippin quite enraptured as his balloon hit the ceiling and gracefully floated off in another direction.

Merry picked up a yellow object and eyed it dubiously.

"You just blow," Frodo encouraged. Merry set the object to his lips and just blew – he went somewhat purple in the face and nothing happened.

"You have to stretch it out a bit first," said Frodo taking a red balloon and demonstrating. "It makes it more yielding."

Merry tried again and this time got the balloon up to quite a decent size. Determined to beat Frodo he carried on blowing with the inevitable result that the balloon burst. Merry staggered backwards clutching his heart and Pippin punched him crossly. "You burst my balloon!"

"Don't worry," said Frodo, "There are plenty more where that came from." And he quickly inflated another blue balloon. This time instead of tying off the end he made to hand it to Pippin. Trustingly Pippin reached out to take it and when Frodo let it go he shrieked in surprise as the balloon shot past him, deflating as it went, and making a most amusing noise.

"Oh it sounds like Fatty after we have onion and cabbage pie for tea!" Pippin laughed in delight. "What else can you do with them?"

"Well," said Frodo conspiratorially. "Don't tell any one I told you – but you can fill them with water and throw them at people. They explode on impact and shower the person they hit with water."

"That sounds good," said Merry.

"Oh no you don't," protested Pippin, snatching away the balloon Merry was reaching for. "You've broken one already."

"You can also tie them to small objects and float them around," informed Frodo. He reached out for the ribbon the gift had been tied with and then selected a mushroom from the pile on the kitchen table waiting to be cooked. With nimble fingers he tied the mushroom to the end of the string and then attached the other end of the string to the balloon. With a nudge he sent it floating ceiling wards again and the mushroom was lifted with it – much to the delight of Pippin.

Frodo smiled at his young cousin. "Now you two go and play while I get the birthday tea ready."

Gathering up his balloons Pippin ran off with Merry on his heels. "No water balloons indoors!" Frodo called after them.

Frodo spent a happy half hour lost in the delights of stuffing mushrooms for tea. He had to stop every now and again to make sure the mushrooms were quite tasty and it was a good ten minutes before he noticed how quiet it was. Refusing to be a fussy old cousin Frodo popped out of the kitchen door and into the garden to see if there were any late strawberries left. He found a nice lot but was distracted by the postman calling at the front door.

Frodo walked round to relieve the postman of several handfuls of birthday greetings and then turned to go back into the smial via the front door. With his letters under one arm and the strawberry's in a bowl in the same hand he reached out and tugged open the front door. The door popped open, there was a wild shriek of horror, a cry of "Pippin!" and Frodo was knocked flat onto his backside as a mass of brightly coloured objects flew past him and sailed off into the clear blue summer sky.

"Pippin!" wailed Merry.

"Merry...!" wailed Pippin from several feet up above the treetops. "Save me!"

Frodo, stunned, lay on his back and looked up into the air as Peregrin Took, heir to the Thainship of Tookborough, sailed away into the blue suspended by ribbons beneath a bunch of brightly coloured balloons.

The end


End file.
